Sashi buri

It's a good Japanese phrase to know, very simple and yet can be used in common situations. It means "Long time, no see." The extent of Japanese that I've learnt is quite minimal, though I am learning grammar, not vocabulary. Anyway, I just thought I'd write because I haven't in a while. I did plan to write a slew of emails today but that didn't happen.

But today is birthday month. There are so many people with birthdays (and I honestly can't remember when exactly people's birthdays are) so I wanna give a big shout out to everyone in the month of October!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

And it is heartfelt and sincere, even though it's not to all you individuals who may read this. I miss Melbourne terribly, even though I'm starting to get more and more comfortable here. But I realise I'm starting to slip, if you know what I mean, so I'm really really looking forward to getting back to Melbourne and getting back into everything that I'm not doing over here.

Taking some reflection, I've realised that the situation I've been put in, I feel quite out of place, almost to the extent that I don't feel I have an identity over here. I'm not going all DMC, but its just that I feel sooo different to most of the people over here. Even though I do meet other Christians, it just doesn't feel the same. And for that reason, I think I'm not enjoying Japan the way some people might. I've even thought of the hypothetical situation that if I wasn't a Christian, what would be different, how would I act differently? And the answer is: a lot. But as to whether coming to Japan is a mistake or not, I'm not even entertaining that thought. Japan has been a great experience, I've grown personally, and I think I've changed. For better or worse, my eyes are definitely more open than before.

This kinda sounds like a post that should be towards the end of my time here, but this is me feeling this right now. I hope all of you back home, Singapore, Dad in Norway, relatives in Malaysia/Sydney are doing great, God bless all of you, and I can't wait for the next time to see you!

P.S. Tim/Min, you're coming to Japan! Soo exciting!